The Tharu people, who predominantly cover the east to west region of southern Nepal, have always worshiped nature and natural resources. These have been a significant part of their livelihood, contributing to their culture, economy, and ecology. Tharu women have age-old basket-making and weaving practices with vegetation and raw materials available in the area. The majority of these women are engaged in continuing this craftsmanship. While the history of basketry is not well documented, it is believed to have started from a primeval age, being an integral part of the community’s sustainability. Since there is no direct evidence on how these baskets have originated, we rely on mythological tales. One story tells us that a woman named Jasu taught a man, Ishu, how to irrigate the land during the human civilization. She also taught basket making and other forms of crafts, which is how it has been able to be passed down through generations.

Aidai Asangulova is one of the famous craftswomen in Kyrgyzstan and the head of the “Kiyiz Duino” Public Foundation. \n\nThe goal of PF “Kiyiz Duino” is to revive and safeguard traditional knowledge and skills related to crafts and the cultural space around it. “Kiyiz Duino” aims to draw general public attention to Kyrgyz traditions and customs; show people how a person can coexist with the surrounding nature in harmony, use its gifts without causing it harm; explain how important it is to take care of nature and preserve its purity for future generations.\n\nThe Foundation holds various community-based events, such as workshops on making Kyrgyz traditional clothing, or festivals to popularize traditional rituals and practices from local to national levels. They also actively cooperate in the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage with governmental and nongovernmental institutions, participate in field trips, conduct research, and document ICH elements. \n\n“Kiyiz Duino” has contributed greatly to the preparation of nomination files as “Ak-kalpak craftsmanship, traditional knowledge and skills in making and wearing Kyrgyz men’s headwear” and “Elechek, Kyrgyz female headwear: traditional knowledge and rituals”.\n

The Indonesian Heritage Network—Jaringan Kota Pusaka Indonesia (JKPI)—is a good example of networking among local governments for safeguarding ICH.\nThe Indonesian Heritage Cities Network is an inter-local government organization (not an NGO) that coordinates on a national level among cities and districts possessing varieties of natural and/or cultural heritage (tangible and intangible). JKPI aims to jointly safeguard natural and cultural heritage including ICH. JKPI was declared on 25 October 2008 in Surakarta City by twelve cities. One of the mayors who declared the establishment of JKPI was Ir. Joko Widodo, then Mayor of Surakarta and host of the meeting, (presently 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia.) As of the seventh National Working Meeting Karangasem, Bali in June 2019, JKPI has seventy member cities and districts. The objectives of JKPI are:n• To develop collaboration amongst cities (and districts) having important natural and cultural heritagen• To develop collaboration for safeguarding heritage with stakeholdersn• To promote a role of communities in safeguarding heritage and its positive development in social lifen• To inventory the wealth of the heritage of the member cities/districts of JKPIn• To develop an understanding of the diverse nature and culture to strengthen the Unified State of the Republic of Indonesian• To be used as a vehicle for promoting existing heritage for JKPI member cities/districts3nJKPI is a non-profit and independent organization, and is not intended to advance the interests of, or be affiliated with, any group or political party.

The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) was set up in 1987 to fulfill late Smt. Indira Gandhi’s (former Prime Minister of India) idea of restoring the integral quality of a human being, fragmented by his diverse roles in cities, classes, ethnic groups, religions, traditions, and nationalities, to reconcile one’s material and spiritual needs, and enable one to be at peace with oneself and with society. The center was visualized as encompassing the study and experience of all the arts—each form with its own integrity, yet within a dimension of mutual interdependence, interrelated with nature, social structure, and cosmology. nIGNCA is based in New Delhi, situated on twelve hectares of prime land while the center itself houses one of the finest libraries in the country, a media production division, a cultural information center, an exhibition division, conference halls and twenty-four guest rooms. Regional centers are in Bangalore (South India), Varanasi (North India), and Guwahati (the Northeast India). The center has collaborative program with numerous national and international institutions and universities and its faculty is internationally trained.

The National Intangible Heritage Center (NIHC, Director Hong-dong Kim), a national institution under the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, was officially opened in the city of Jeonju, Republic of Korea, in October 2014.\nIntangible cultural heritage is a valuable form of cultural asset that contains greater internal meaning than is visible on the surface, and its importance continues to grow every day. However, due to the non-physical nature of intangible cultural heritage, there are challenges to safeguarding and transmitting it, especially since the cultural element itself can be lost when its bearer passes on.\nCurrently, there are 132 state-designated elements of important intangible cultural heritage in Korea with 174 bearers, and 38 of these have been identified as being in a vulnerable state of viability with poor foundations for transmission or insufficient numbers of bearers.\nThe NIHC fulfills comprehensive functions for safeguarding and strengthening transmission foundations for intangible cultural heritage, including vulnerable elements, while supporting the independent viability and revitalization of traditional arts and crafts.

\nThe Public Association of Kuhhoi Pomir (Pamir Mountains), a UNESCO-accredited NGO, is operating their projects on the territory of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) of the Republic of Tajikistan, which is also called Pamir or figuratively the roof of the world. The Association is actively involved in biodiversity of local ecosystems, conservation and restoration of nature, cultural and historical heritage of mountain communities, public physical and spiritual health, sustainable use of local resources, among others. It also encourages revitalization of cultural and spiritual heritage of population of mountainous locality and participates in the transmission of national traditional knowledge to the new generation.